It was not an easy decision by head coach Steve Spagnuolo to place FS O.J. Atogwe, the Rams' best defensive player, on injured reserve and snap a streak of 60 consecutive starts highlighted by an impressive 37 takeaways. Atogwe, who dislocated his shoulder in the Week 13 loss to the Bears, tried to convince Spagnuolo to let him keep playing with the injury. "O.J. and I talked a lot," Spagnuolo said. "I couldn't probably sleep or live with myself if O.J. forced himself in there and all of a sudden that thing popped out again, and there was a chance that that was going to happen." The Rams could do a lot worse than third-year pro Craig Dahl as Atogwe's replacement. Said a team insider of Dahl, who did a nice job earlier in the season replacing injured SS James Butler: "He's a better third safety than Todd Johnson was; he's got more range, and he's a better open-field tackler." Added Spagnuolo: "I think James Butler and Craig work well together, so hopefully we won't skip a beat."

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